Certificate in Advanced Budgeting and Forecasting |Plus

Overview

Why Attend

This course is a second-level budgeting course. It goes beyond the theory of budgeting as a concept to cover specific steps to make the budget a value-added process in the organization. By building user-friendly models and applying scenario analysis, participants can spend less time gathering data and more time analyzing this data for decision-making. Several Microsoft Excel tools are used throughout this course for practicality and to provide participants with the skills they need to apply in their organization immediately. Such tools include 'what-if' analysis and the 'solver', among many others.

The course also highlights some of the leading forecasting models and provides a detailed evaluation of capital budgeting techniques, all of which are applied in Microsoft Excel and put into practice.

Course Methodology

The course is a hands-on application on how to use MS Excel in budgeting and forecasting. Participants will be involved in exercises, individual and group presentations, and will work on several case studies.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Evaluate the financial impact on their organization's strategies and plans
Build effective budgets for their departments or organizations
Apply several forecasting techniques to manage uncertainties in budgeting better
Assess capital budgeting decisions using several methods and recommend proper action
Utilize Microsoft Excel functions and tools in the budgeting process, including breakeven analysis and optimization

Target Audience

Finance directors, managers, controllers, accountants, budget analysts, budget owners and professionals who wish to expand their budgeting knowledge.

Target Competencies

Budgeting
Forecasting
Evaluating proposals
Applying Microsoft Excel functions and tools
Assessing budgeting process

Note

This is a hands-on training course using laptops which will be provided by Plus for the duration of the course.

Course Outline

Budgeting and Planning
- Strategy development framework
- The three horizons of growth model
- Strategic budgeting and resource allocation
  - Growth-share matrix
  - Nine-box matrix
- Budgets and the key financial statements
Budget cycle, process, and approaches
- The budget cycle
- Characteristics of successful budgeting
- Making the budget a value-adding activity
- Top ten problems with budgeting
- Choosing the proper budgeting approach:
  - Incremental budgeting
  - Zero-based budgeting
  - Flexible budgeting
  - Kaizen budgeting
  - Activity-based budgeting
  - Rolling (continuous) budgets and forecasts
- The master budget and its components
- Operating and capital budgets
- Best practices in budgeting
Forecasting Techniques
- Forecasting models
- Qualitative and quantitative methods
- Steps in developing forecasting models
- Time series and trend analysis
- Data conditioning techniques
- Exponential smoothing and moving averages
- Simple and multiple regression analysis
- Forecasting components of financial statements
Advanced Capital Budgeting Evaluation Techniques
- Business risk and cost of capital
- Classifying investment projects
- Cash flow estimation
- Analyzing investment and operating cash flows
- The time value of money concept
- The required rate of return
- Net Present Value (NPV)
- Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
- Multiple internal rates of return
- Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR)
- Profitability Index (PI)
- Payback period and discounted payback period
- Capital rationing
- Comparing and evaluating techniques
- Sensitivity and risk analysis
Breakeven Analysis and Optimization Techniques
- Cost Volume Profit (CVP) analysis
- Using CVP to reach a target income
- Single product and multiple products breakeven analysis
- Working with budget constraints
- Building optimization models

Schedule & Fees

2026 Schedule & Fees

29–3 Nov – Dec 2026

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

29–3 Nov – Dec 2026

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

13–17 Dec 2026

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

13–17 Dec 2026

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

2027 Schedule & Fees

28–4 Feb – Mar 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

28–4 Feb – Mar 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

14–18 Mar 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

14–18 Mar 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

30–3 May – Jun 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

30–3 May – Jun 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

13–17 Jun 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

13–17 Jun 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

29–2 Aug – Sep 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

29–2 Aug – Sep 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

12–16 Sep 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

12–16 Sep 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

28–2 Nov – Dec 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

28–2 Nov – Dec 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

12–16 Dec 2027

Language English
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

12–16 Dec 2027

Language Arabic
City

USD 3,000

Per participant

Certificate in Advanced Budgeting and Forecasting

Overview

Why Attend

Course Methodology

Course Objectives

Target Audience

Target Competencies

Note

Course Outline

Schedule & Fees

2026 Schedule & Fees

2027 Schedule & Fees

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